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Here at Stephanie?s Kitchen Garden this week we will begin the winter clean of all our pots and tools. Last year I treated myself to a Sneeboer tool maintenance kit and gave all our tools some thorough care and attention.

It's a long way from Lowestoft to Leyburn, but some of Harrod Horticultural's bio-degradable pots will be making their way up to the The Dales Festival of Food and Drink - a celebration of food, drink and farming in the glorious Wensleydale area of Yorkshire. Martin Fiddes takes a trip to find out...

Like many gardeners at this time of year, I am taking a much-needed holiday which will mean a week away from the garden. August is the perfect time for a holiday but the worst time to leave the garden as it is such a busy part of the growing year; the greenhouse needs watering daily, plants in pots need watering at least every other day in sunny weather and crops need harvesting to keep them productive.

In Stephanie's Kitchen Garden, moving our pots into the shade of a north facing fence and standing them in trays to keep water at their feet has proved very effective. We have mulched raised beds with strulch and the plants certainly seem to be happier for it. This week we will be continuing to strulch around the tops of larger pots that cannot be moved, as well as other beds.

January is mulching month in the Kitchen Garden and this week it will be the turn of the blueberries to get a fresh, nutritious top dressing. Most of our blueberry plants are grown in pots standing in our fruit cage. Despite the fact that we have acid soil which blueberries like, the bushes prefer to grow in pots, and this is evident every year here as the pot grown plants always fruit better than those grown in the soil.

This week we will be potting on our tomatoes, peppers and aubergines into their final pots. They are a really good size now and getting hungrier by the day so will need a good sized growing space to spread their roots into. Some of our tomatoes have already started producing flower stalks.

Seeds are shooting up in every seed tray and pot in the Greenhouse. The broccoli, brussel sprouts, aubergine, celery and celeriac have been moved into an unheated propagator to free up space for more seed sowing and tomato plants that have been potted on can now be moved into the raised border bed in pots.

Our greenhouse crops are coming to the end of their lives. The tomatoes have all been harvested and we will be clearing the old plants and consigning them to the compost heap. The pots, tomato towers, plant halos and slot and lock frame and will be brushed clean and set aside for scrubbing and cleaning during the winter months.

Here at Stephanie's Kitchen Garden this week we will be pricking out some of our new little seedlings in the greenhouse. The heated propagator is a hive of activity and some of the tomatoes, aubergines and peppers are ready to be transferred to small pots.

Here at Stephanie?s Kitchen Garden this week we will be setting up our irrigation ready for the coming season. We are currently experiencing a dry spell in East Anglia and haven?t had significant rainfall for a couple of weeks. Pots and beds are looking dry and we have already had to water our onion and garlic crops to try and prevent rust setting in later on.

Here at Stephanie's Kitchen Garden this week we will be sowing the first seeds of 2015. Last week we finished cleaning all the pots and staging and the greenhouse and all its contents look as good as new.

Growing your own fruit and vegetables can have some real advantages over standard plots, our top 10 benefits will help you see why you should consider growing in raised beds this year...

2023 has been a really rough growing season. Everything started off really well with my early sweet peas being the star of the show but then that extreme couple of weeks of heat that blasted my allotment in June...

It is challenging times we are all facing at the moment but the garden offers some sanctuary. The plants are unaware of the current crisis and continue to grow and bloom as they normally do and we continue to care for them.

At last we have passed the Spring Equinox and this weekend will put the clocks forward which will give us all a precious extra hour of light at the end of the day to spend in the garden. The ground has been dug over, all of our structures have been cleaned and the garden is ready for growing. A whole new season lies before us and we can't wait!

Well the weather this week has been a complete change, with us having the warmest valentine's day in 21 years. I have seen out in the garden a butterfly, a very large bumble bee, other solitary bees and numerous other bugs and flies, the weather is really teasing us.

Guest Blog by Elementa Design - A Concise Guide to Garden Design - some great advice on creating your own garden scheme using the same tools that a professional garden designer uses.

This concise guide to the Planting Season is full of useful information on when to plant and why, some great ideas on planting throughout the year.

March has seen the Kitchen Garden emerge from the long winter into spring and the burst of growing activity that it brings. We have experienced a very dry month in Stephanie's Kitchen Garden with some lovely spells of sunshine. However the temperatures have struggled and it is only now, at the end of the month that the warmth of the sun is beginning to be felt.

Well this has been another month where we have been scanning the skies looking for any sign of rain and unfortunately, we have not really been rewarded with any sufficient quantities; the occasional down pour and half an hour of drizzle every now and then.

At last we have had a taste of spring in the Kitchen Garden, with a few days of warm sunny weather arriving in East Anglia. It has been warm enough to leave the greenhouse door open allowing vital ventilation around the plants. The autovents on the greenhouse windows have even nudged the windows open in the warmth of the winter sunshine.

It has been another busy week in the kitchen garden. Peas that had been started in the greenhouse and then transferred to the cold frame, had grown sufficiently to be planted outside. These have been planted opposite the peas that were sown directly into the ground and are going to run up the vintage pea frame.

As we have not experienced any really hard weather here this year, the apricot tree 'Tomcot' is now in flower which is a lovely sight to see on a cold grey day. The peach and nectarine trees are also now in bud but no flowers yet. Once they start to flower they will be given a helping hand by pollinating with a paintbrush.

April has flown by in a blur of activity in Stephanie's Kitchen Garden. As always there is much to be getting on with at this time of year and the typical April weather of sunshine and showers has encouraged green shoots all around the garden. As I write this, we have just experienced two days of wintry showers and freezing winds which proves that it isn't time to cast the clout just yet.

After a warm, sunny and very dry month, the rain has arrived at last in Stephanie's Kitchen Garden. The warm weather has been enjoyed by plants and gardeners alike and brought the garden on in leaps and bounds, but the lack of rain at a crucial time in the growing calendar has led to copious watering at a busy time. The welcome rainfall will restock the waterbutts and give the irrigation and watering cans a rest for a while.

Aubergines are an attractive crop to grow and provide you with a taste of the mediterranean. A beautiful and delicious addition to your harvest, they are a very saitsfying crop to grow.

The long August Bank Holiday weekend is upon us and the forecast in our area is for hot and sunny weather. Crops are ripening ready for picking in vast quantities and we are in the throes of our annual bean glut.

The temperatures have dropped, the days are getting shorter, and the lawn is covered by a blanket of golden yellow and rich orange hues. Autumn has arrived. Now is the perfect time to prepare your garden for the cold, dark weather that lies ahead. Here's everything you should do to ensure your garden remains in tip-top condition ready for a vibrant spring

Another long Bank holiday weekend is upon us and the weather looks like it is going to be perfect for gardening!

The main summer harvest is almost over and the larder and freezer are bursting with the fruits of our labour. This week we are continuing the big autumn clear up as crops begin to fade and litter the ground. Spending a little time each day clearing away plant debris keeps the garden as neat as possible and avoids a huge clear up later on.

It's been lovely in the kitchen garden this week plenty of blue skies and sunshine, this of course means no rain and an awful lot of watering, as this has been a week of planting.

It has been a busy week in the kitchen garden. Because of the lock down one of the gardeners who works mainly in the kitchen garden is now being furloughed and Louise is taking over most of the gardening jobs. We do hope Heidy will be back with us soon.

We have had some windy days this week with more challenging weather forecast for us for the weekend which will mean we will have a lot of debris to clean up next week.

This has been a week about finding jobs in the garden that keep you warm. We haven't had the heavy snow like some parts of the country but we have had some very cold nights and frosty starts the following day.

The Courgettes planted in the self watering propagator have grown so quickly we are already having to pot them on. We have also been busy sowing squash and tomatoes - the greenhouse is looking full!

To increase the success of your garden and vegetable growing it is important to protect your plants from adverse weather and wildlife.

Cucumbers are rewarding to grow because the baby cucumbers grow really quickly into full size specimens and can be grown by inexperienced gardeners.

Spring has finally sprung in Stephanie's Kitchen Garden. As I write this the sun is shining and the sowing season has begun in earnest. Whilst frosty weather still threatens, the days are getting longer and the darkest days of winter seem to be behind us.

Here at Harrod Horticultural we like to be leaders in the horticultural field, and to back this statement up, we're growing an early crop of tumbler tomatoes in our own Kitchen Garden.

Watering your garden and vegetable plot effectively is not just beneficial to your plants but can help the environment too. Hosepipe bans are becoming a regular occurrence so make the most of your water with our useful tips and advice.

What a month we have had weather wise. It felt as if we had skipped spring and gone straight into summer. We had the hottest Valentines day in 21 years and on Thursday Kew Gardens recorded 21c. Because of this flowers and plants are growing when they should be dormant. It's lovely to see the bobbing heads of daffodils mingled amongst the snowdrops.

Vine weevils can be one of the most destructive garden pests and as they wreak their havoc undetected underground, it can often be too late once you've eventually laid eyes on them

Last week we finally saw some heavy rainfall in the Kitchen Garden and all around the garden, plants seem to have put on inches of growth overnight. This week we will be exchanging the watering cans for soft-tie and scissors to stake the plants that have had a growth spurt.

This week it's fruit picking week in Stephanie's Kitchen Garden. All of our soft fruit bushes have really been enjoying the hot sunny weather and are covered in plump juicy fruits almost ready for harvesting. We have been watering all of our fruits plants and bushes twice a week and they have been thriving in the sunshine.

Spring cleaning has a 1950s housewife image. Not many people open up their houses and clean them from top to bottom in March any more. But a garden spring clean will make a big difference to your gardening later on in the year.

It can be difficult to find a long lasting, permanent support for climbing plants such as clematis for garden walls, but we think we have a solution that will help...

With it set to be the hottest few days of the year so far, make sure you are doing all you can to look after your plants as they will be feeling the heat too!

August can be one of the hottest months of the year, this makes watering an essential task! If water butts are running flow, grey water can be used wherever possible. If August is holiday time for you, plans may be needed to enlist the help if friends and family to look after the garden when you are away!

A favourite crop in the Harrod Kitchen Garden, Garlic is easy to grow and occupies the ground during the quiet months over the Winter. The health benefits of this crop make it an essential vegetable to include in any garden. It is a great crop to grow in pots or raised beds if your space is limited.

The 2010 version of our pest control guide ran to reprints galore so we're expecting the 2011 tome - The Little Book of Least Wanted Pests - to be just as successful. The 24 pages are crammed with pest control solutions and advice from pest expert Julian Ives and you'll find the organic answers to problems from A (ants) to almost Z (whitefly), along with plenty of tips to make your plants stronger and more pest and disease resistant. It's a must-have guide to accompany you through the growing year

With brighter, sunnier days on the horizon and rules on socialising easing, you will no doubt be thinking of dusting off that BBQ and organising a few garden gatherings with six of your nearest and dearest. From cleaning your garden furniture, to mowing the lawn, here is a few things you can do to get your garden ready.

You may wish to customise your Harrod Greenhouse with some handy optional accessories such as greenhouse staging, shelving, and work trays and reservoirs, available to add to your order at the time of purchase or to add to your greenhouse at a later date

This week we have given the greenhouse a good clean and tidy so it's ready for the less hardy plants to be overwintered and for some autumn seed sowing.

One of this season's big success stories at the Kitchen Garden has been the new trailing courgette plant, Black Forest. This cucurbit leviathan is rapidly taking over the greenhouse at the garden and it's certainly a plant we'll be welcoming back next year reports Martin Fiddes.

If you have a sunny patio you can easily grow an amazing variety of vegetables. You won't be self sufficient but you will soon make a good contribution to your home grown vegetables.

If you have a sunny patio you can grow an amazing variety of fruit and vegetables in very little space. You won't be self sufficient but you can certainly make a good contribution to your kitchen table.

Despite the imminent onset of winter, we are still growing vegetables in the Kitchen Garden. Our overwintering broad bean plants have just been planted out alongside the onions, garlic, spring cabbage, broccoli, and turnips and we will be sowing carrots and peas in the greenhouse this week.

There's a real buzz about Harrod Horticultural today as page 62 of the Daily Express carries an article on growing your own vegetables - and our very own horticulturist Martin Fiddes has his vegetable seed sowing tips in print too!

The weekly harvest is becoming more bountiful as temperatures increase and overwintering crops begin to grow. We are currently harvesting rhubarb, kale, spinach, rocket and the last of the leeks.

It has now been three weeks since we had any rainfall in Stephanies' Kitchen Garden and the forecast shows sunny and hot weather for at least the next three weeks to come. In our part of the world, near the most easterly coast of the UK, we are used to gardening in the driest part of the country, but usually enjoy the odd thunderstorm to keep the garden from drying out completely in the heatwave.

There is nothing better than picking - and of course eating - fresh strawberries from your own garden and with Wimbledon approaching it is strawberries and cream all round!

Summer so far has been a hot one to say the least. That being said, here's a few tips and tricks to water your garden effectively in the heat...

Most of the month has been grey, windy and wet with only the occasional sunny crisp day to lift the mood. It would be so easy to hibernate indoors and leave the gardening jobs until fairer weather, but work done around the garden now will pay us back later in the year when spare time is more precious

A short week for workers this week but the kitchen garden continues to grow. Although, since the last heavy rain it has started to feel a little autumnal in the mornings; a chilly and sometimes dewy start but warming up during the day.

Having just spent an enjoyable morning in shirt sleeves digging over the potato bed, it is hard to believe the weather warnings for sub-zero temperatures and snow that are forecast for our part of the UK over the coming weekend. The sun is watery today but it's providing some warmth and combined with the birdsong is giving the day a distinctively spring-like feel.

This week in Stephanie's Kitchen Garden we will be eagerly awaiting the arrival of our new heated propagator. I can't wait to try it out and January is the perfect time to be sowing seeds such as celery, celeriac and chilli peppers

August can be one of the hottest months of the year, this makes watering essential. If water butts are running low, grey water can be used wherever possible. If August is holiday time for you, plans may be needed to enlist the help of friends and family to look after the garden when you are away.

This month there is hope - there are signs that Spring is approaching, bulbs are appearing and wildlife are waking up as the light levels and temperatures increase.

July has certainly been a hot one and a great time to enjoy your garden but make sure you keep any new plants well watered and hoe off the weeds that will thrive in the sunshine.

Leaves are falling all over the place and wind and rain are on the increase. Tender plants will need protecting from frost, gales and freezing rain. Move plants into a greenhouse or into a sheltered spot.

June has certainly lived up to its 'flaming' reputation this year and has thrown many challenges at us with its extreme heat, wall-to-wall sunshine and three-week drought. The garden and the gardeners have wilted at times, but we have survived and, as I write this, we have at last had some much-needed rainfall.

Flaming June is living up to its reputation this year with wall-to-wall sunshine for most of the month. As I write we have had no rainfall for four weeks and the scorching sun and drying winds of a heatwave are causing challenges all around the garden. 2018 has certainly been a year of extreme weather so far!

A lot of tidying in the Kitchen Garden this week, lots of leaves thanks to the high winds, a Greenhouse to clean and lots of tools that need some cleaning.

This week In Stephanie's Kitchen Garden we will be harvesting our blackcurrants in the fruit cage. This is such a low maintenance crop, with the bushes needing very little attention through the year.

This week In Stephanie's Kitchen Garden we will be preparing the garden for a week long absence as Jo takes her summer holidays. It's always a nervous time for gardeners going on holiday during the hot summer months, but with careful planning, it can be managed with minimal stress.

This week in Stephanie?s Kitchen Garden we have been pruning our asparagus plants down to the ground. The fronds have begun turning yellow and dying off so it is the perfect time to tidy up.

I'm back! Following a busy week even by my standards, I've finally returned to my keyboard and can bring you a fully illustrated report on the latest Kitchen Garden Sowing and Growing Event to be held at the RHS's Harlow Carr gardens. It goes something like this...

These delicious Mediterranean fruits have grown in popularity and are now widely found in many kitchens across the UK. Despite the challenges, aubergines are definitely worth the effort and make for a delicious addition in curries, lasagne, bakes and risottos.

Butternut squash is one of the most popular squashes to grow in your home garden. The pear-shaped fruits are widely celebrated for their sweet, nutty flavours and incredible versatility.

Home-grown carrots are versatile and full of flavour and texture. They are a popular, long-lasting root vegetable that can be grown in many climates.

Since a single plant can provide up to 100 chillies, they are the perfect addition to the kitchen garden or windowsill. Whether you prefer just a little heat, or a pepper that makes your eyes water, there are dozens of varieties to choose from.

One of our oldest cultivated foods, lettuce is the quintessential salad crop that dresses up a garden with its ruffly leaves.

You can not beat the flavour of delicious home-grown tomatoes eaten straight from the vine. Once you taste tomatoes harvested fresh from your own patch, you?ll never again be satisfied with the supermarket imposters.

If space is limited it doesn't have to stop you Growing Your Own - even just a sunny windowsill can be ideal for growing salad leaves and herbs.

We have definitely been making the most of our waterproofs this week we have had lots of rain and a few thundery downpours. We have a few peppers that are still showing promise of ripening but it's pretty much the end of the summer greenhouse plants.

May has been a busy month in Stephanie's Kitchen Garden. Lots of sowing and planting out has been done and the garden has gradually transformed from brown to green as the month has gone on. We are still waiting for the hot sunny days of spring to arrive in our part of East Anglia and the cold nights have caused us some problems, but our crops look healthy and the new harvesting year has begun.

With March signalling the arrival of spring, I had high expectations for the weather. However, mother nature had other ideas. Aside from three bright, warm days the rest of the month was cold.

We have veered from extreme arctic weather and deep snow to gardening in our shirtsleeves in the sunshine. Gardeners and garden have both been exposed to some interesting conditions for the time of year - and survived!

The past two weeks of glorious sunshine has been a wonderful relief from the excessive rain and gale-force winds that battered the gardens throughout May.

May is always one of the busiest months of the year in Stephanie's Kitchen Garden and this year has been no exception.

May has certainly been a challenging month for the Kitchen Gardener this year. Mother Nature has been stretching our capabilities with extremes of temperature and very little rainfall. We've ranged from severe late frosts to sweltering heat in a very short space of time but, whilst we've had the occasional disaster, on the whole we are surviving the unusual spring conditions.

May is always the busiest month in Stephanie's Kitchen Garden, and sometimes I have to force myself to stop and just look at how beautiful it looks. The apple blossom on the espaliers is here for such a brief time, that it's easy to miss it when you are focussed on the many jobs that need to be done. May, for me, is when the Kitchen Garden is at its most beautiful - full of lush green growth, blossom and the promise of what is to come.

It's been mixed fortunes over the last few weeks in the Harrod Horticultural HQ Garden, luckily the successes outweigh the failures!

There has only been one topic of conversation amongst gardens during July 2018 and it is the weather. When we finally arrived in Spring this year, after such an awful winter, we sighed with relief and looked forward to a summer of growing. But Mother Nature was obviously not through with trying to stretch our gardening skills and now we are battling with the Mediterranean Melt!

Versatile is a term often bandied about when it comes to describing garden equipment but in the case of Harrod Horticultural's Slot and Lock? connector and crop protection cage range, it's a title well merited.

Throughout November the kitchen garden has witnessed an array of weather conditions. Much like every other UK November, rain featured heavily. Not enough to put a stop to my monthly tasks, but enough to warrant several layers and a waterproof!

November is probably my least favourite month of the gardening year. No matter what your efforts, the garden always seems to look untidy; littered with fallen leaves and the skeletons of old crops. Spring and summer suddenly seem like a lifetime away and the short days seem to plunge us into constant darkness. It would be so easy to retire to the house and emerge again in the springtime. This, of course, never happens.

October has been a busy month in Stephanie's Kitchen Garden as we prepare the garden for the cold months ahead. The daylight hours are diminishing and the night-time temperatures are beginning to drop. This month has been a balance of tidying up for winter versus trying to keep crops going for as long as possible before consigning them to the compost bins.

We have just had one of the driest Aprils I can remember in Stephanie's Kitchen Garden. At one of the busiest months of the growing calendar, the dry spell has added to our workload with many hours spent watering our crops.

We were fortunate enough to catch up with the wonderful Anna Greenland. Anna is based in Suffolk and after retiring her role within the fashion industry, Anna has since become an organic grower and has worked in a number of prestigious venues around the country.

It has been a busy month of taking out the old and putting in the new, with summer crops finishing and new winter and spring varieties being planted.

The patio can be an ideal area for growing your own fruit and vegetables with a wide range of planters available to grow everything from salad to spuds on the patio!

A taste of the mediterranean in your greenhouse, peppers an attractive addition to any vegetable plot. They look amazing, taste great and need very little attention. A must grow!

The Harrod Horticultural garden is really starting to flourish, the sunshine and showers over the last week really seem to have helped and we are starting to pick our first peas of the season.

In fact, this month's magazine is of extra interest as it contains a 30 page garden special, including a feature by gold medal winning garden designer and writer Tom Hoblyn, along with Country Living's Garden Editor, Stephanie Donaldson.

It's time to plant out our onions and garlic in the Kitchen Garden. Back at the end of September we sowed the sets into trays and set them onto the greenhouse shelves to start them off. We prefer to sow them to modules initially as the local bird population like to pull them out of the ground when sowed direct into the soil.

Now that we are well into May, we will be starting the Big Plant Out in Stephanie's Kitchen Garden. Our greenhouse and cold frame are crammed with tender crops such as runner beans, courgettes, squash, climbing french beans, sweetcorn, celery and celeriac all waiting to spread their roots into deep fertile soil.

The recent warmer temperatures have really helped our sweet potatoes which are now ready to be planted out in our metal raised bed.

Choosing your ideal plot and position can seem confusing but a little planning goes a long way in ensuring a productive and enjoyable vegetable garden!

Easter is traditionally the time to plant potatoes and this weekend we will be making the most of the double bank holiday and the long light evenings to get ours into the ground. I had thought to delay it a little following the recent cold start to spring and the current chilly temperatures, however today I watched the local farmers putting their seed potatoes into the ground in the fields near our kitchen garden. If conditions are good enough for the farmers, they are definitely good enough for us.

Potatoes are a very rewarding crop to grow and the fresh flavour of newly dug potatoes really is hard to beat. A hugely versatile vegetable and a staple ingredient in many meals which is surprisingly easy to grow.

The customer service team were hard at work again in the greenhouse this week potting on cucumbers and also had time to put a slot and lock vegetable cage together to protect one of the raised beds.

November has been a beautiful month, with sharp frosts and blue skies creating some stunning autumn scenes all around the garden.

At last we have reached the end of February and the Spring is about to begin. After the hard work of the winter, it?s time for the growing to really start. Inside the greenhouse this week, we will carrying out one of my favourite jobs of the gardening year; pricking out seedlings.

Propagation Bench It's around this time of year when thoughts of sowing seeds and striking cuttings occupy the minds of many gardeners - and what better way to give those seeds and shoots every chance of making it than providing them with a propagation bench?

This week we will be pulling the hoops and covers out of the shed to put over our raised beds and mangers. This will help keep our crops protected in the winter and allow us to plant out some winter crops such as spinach, rocket, mustard greens and chard.

As we head into May, in our part of the world we would normally expect to be planting out some of our tender crops such as beans, courgettes and squash plants. However we are in the middle of a very cold snap and planting out now would be a disaster for these tender plants.

The best selling Quadgrow has many fans, including the editor of Garden Answers magazine and Kitchen Garden magazine and was featured in the Daily Mirror and Daily Mail.

Well the promised storms by the weather forecasters have finally arrived and we've had a few heavy showers to keep the garden ticking over. It had been been 8 weeks since we had any rain in the Kitchen Garden and the temperatures over the past week has been in the 30's every day so these showers are very welcome.

December has arrived, reminding us that Christmas is fast approaching and a new growing year will soon be here. The month arrived quietly but wet and thankfully no snow, just rain and more rain so a lot of the jobs I had planned for this week have now been moved into next.

The new metal raised beds that have been located in the peak roof fruit cage have now all been filled with new soil and the autumn raspberries and blueberries have been replanted in their new homes.

I have finally had a dry, bright day to remove the fruit cage roof netting. This will prevent any damage to the cage frame from any heavy snowfall that may lie ahead. A lot of the tie wraps that were used to put the netting up were easy quick release ties, but after a time the fingers do start to go numb in the cold.

It has been so long since we had been to an RHS Flower Show that to finally be able to attend the RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival in July was a real treat!

Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival is just a week away and ready to celebrate its 30th year running with breath-taking displays, inspiring gardens and a celebration of nature’s boundless creativity...

Rhubarb is one of my favourite Kitchen Garden crops. Not only does it taste delicious but it also looks lovely growing in the corner of the garden. I find the red stems and large leaves beautifully ornamental. In return for very little effort it will reward you with a bumper crop.

If you want to grow a high yielding tasty vegetable then this is the one to grow. Pick beans regularly when young and you will have a bumper crop from mid Summer until mid Autumn. Runner beans are vigorous climbers and will add height and colour to your vegetable patch.

The Consumer Council for Water has produced a checklist of water saving ideas following predictions of another long, hot - and dry - summer.

The seasonality of gardening and understanding what needs to be done throughout the seasons is key to a successful garden.

Whether you have the luxury of a greenhouse or prefer to grow in a more rudimentary fashion, sowing seeds is fundamentally the same. The recipe for success is simple; provide them with warmth and moisture and the result is a home-grown dish of tasty fruit and vegetables.

Another year has rolled around and we were thrilled to be attending the SGD Awards once again at the Landmark Hotel London!

Well the first month of this year has been a real mixture of weather. It started with rain wind and frosts then as the month marched on the temperatures really started to drop but none of the white stuff. Some weeks I was beginning to wonder if we were going to see the sun again then as the month ended the snow arrived, but not a lot and very, very cold temperatures.

Here at Harrod Horticultural, we're always looking for quality gardening tools and accessories to bring to you. With Christmas in mind, we would like to showcase The Sophie Conran Collection for you

April has seen spring arrive in Stephanie's Kitchen Garden at last, although the last few days of the month winter has returned with cold north winds and gales, just a week after the hottest April days on record!

It never rains but it pours! The word drought conjours up images of parched land and wilting crops but that's far from the case - and although the coldest, wettest April for decades delayed many of our Kitchen Garden planting plans, at least it topped up our numerous water butts. Find out how we've been coping with the 165% above average monthly rainfall and much more in our April edition of Stephanie's Kitchen Garden Diary...

Winter's late blast does not affect propagation and the Potato chitting debate continues

Very picturesque - but not so good for progressing the project! - design plans are finalised

Climatic experts have long been insisting that global warming is inevitable, and in the next few years we are likely to see changes in our weather

Finally, some sun on our backs! Another busy month in the garden - find out about our new lodgers, how the potatoes are getting on, our slug-busting ideas and much more!

As I am writing this the heavens have opened and there is a roar or thunder accompanied by a crack of lightning and I am reluctant to say is this the end of summer? We certainly hope not here in Stephanie's Kitchen Garden as our plants have got plenty of life in them yet - we still need some much yearned for sunshine to ripen them off...

Hark back, if you will, to my last update from the Kitchen Garden when I was sidelined with my ankle injury

As we are well into the New Year, garden thoughts have turned to the spring and summer and what will be growing in the Kitchen Garden. If ever a plan was required, it's now

Pricking out tomatoes is one job that seems to take such a long time, I try to save such jobs for more the more inclement days, those frosty mornings just keep coming

A review of February's garden activities including a visit from a tree pruning expert, a look in the greenhouse, some early strawberry planting and much more

The arrival of the Yuletide Season and the New Year brings fruit trees, a potting shed and a long list of jobs!

A look back at the early days of the Kitchen Garden, a welcome delivery of manure and what's likely to be growing in 2008...

Just because it's snowing doesn't mean the garden stops! We've got horse manure to spread and a greenhouse to clean - and how's that rhubarb coming on...?

It is already June in the Kitchen Garden, and now we can really see, smell and taste the fruits of our labours. The garden is vibrant with bright colours of Calendula and Nasturtium. Heady scents of sweet peas waft from obelisks...

The Kitchen Garden is now Rabbit proof - or is it?

Greenhouse crops are flourishing and the A-Tom frame plants thrive

Pricking out Tomatoes is one job that seems to take such a long time, I try to save such jobs for more the more inclement days, those frosty mornings just keep coming.

Spring strolls into the Kitchen Garden armed with the deadly combination of warm, sunny days and cold, frosty nights - just the kind of extremes of conditions the trays and trays of seedlings in the greenhouse don't want. And it's the greenhouse where 90% of our March garden time has been spent, with a few trips outside to weed, feed and plant. Find out more about how we've coped with spring in the Kitchen Garden below...

Lady May arrives in the garden, whirling her skirts in mischievous east coast winds. Contrary she blows hot and cold, catching unfortunate gardeners unawares. This is the time to be on your guard; armed with fleece, cloche and hoe we try to tame her. With plant food, string and supports we struggle to keep up with her.

'Four Seasons in One Day' sang 80's-90's Antipodean pop stars Crowded House and that's not a bad way to describe May 2012! A start to the month which seemed more akin to February was in complete contrast to a scorching finale which saw our Kitchen Garden plants - and the weeds - go mad! The weather aside, it's been a great month with the culmination an RHS Chelsea Flower Show award double! Find out more below...

With even more products appearing in the horticultural marketplace, it's been decided to boost the staff numbers in the Kitchen Garden too

Time for Courtney to make her literary bow as my Kitchen Garden trainee takes you through the final two months of the year.

As it's Halloween, we concentrate on the nasties in the greenhouse and how to get rid of them

It's the season of leaves in the Kitchen Garden but our vegetable growing activities run alongside sweeping up; we've been building a carrot clamp, unearthing our parsnips and trying to coax our sprouts into a pre-Xmas growth spurt. With garlic to plant and beans and peas popping into rootrainers under glass for an early 2012 crop, October has been another busy month in the Kitchen Garden...

September here at the Kitchen Garden has been a bumper month for many crops and a disappointment for others as that wet, wet August took its toll.

August has been a month of extremes, beginning with hot sunny weather and ending with chilly autumn nights and plenty of rain. This has brought its share of challenges and kept us on our toes. It's been a month of successes and failures.

December in the Kitchen Garden is all about planning for the New Year ahead. As the garden is cleared of last season's crops and prepared for the coming year, it is a good time to look back on our successes and failures of the past year. I have been drawing up my plan of the garden for 2014 and placing my seed orders. My next rainy day task is to peruse the latest Harrod brochure. There are some new Harrod Wire Obelisks that will look lovely with sweet peas growing up them...

December has been a very productive month in Stephanie's Kitchen Garden. The weather has been very cold, but also dry allowing us to crack on with lots of structural and maintenance jobs. It's an ideal time of year to make changes to the garden whilst most of it is in its winter dormancy and less likely to be damaged or disturbed.

It has felt more like Easter than Christmas this month, as the weather has been incredibly mild. Unfortunately the sun has been conspicuous by its absence and we have lots of grey days and plenty of rain. No sign of a white Christmas in Stephanie's Kitchen Garden this year.

Spring has well and truly sprung in Stephanie's Kitchen Garden this month. We've been enjoying some mild temperatures and the sun has come out at last. We've had very few frosts and the garden is beginning to awaken from its winter sleep. The birds have been enjoying the new feeding stations and, on sunny days, they are showing their appreciation by filling the air with birdsong. We've even seen our first bee!

It is hard to believe that this time last year the Kitchen Garden was covered with a thick blanket of snow. The weather has certainly been milder this winter and it shows. The overwintering crops are enjoying the conditions and are well forward on last year. However, as all kitchen gardeners know only too well, the weather can change in a heartbeat, so the fleece and cloches are on hand just in case....

The new year has at last brought some seasonal cold and frosty weather to Stephanie's Kitchen Garden. For me these are ideal conditions for a healthy garden, as sub zero temperatures help to cleanse the garden of some overwintering pests and diseases. It also sweetens the brussel sprouts and parsnips to make them tastier than ever. Better still the blue skies and sunshine bring an added beauty to the garden that has been missing during the dark, grey days we've seen so often of late.

At last the harvest has begun in earnest in the Kitchen Garden. It feels like it's been a long time coming as we are obviously delayed this year due to the weather. This month we have been harvesting kale, sprouting broccoli, cucumbers, tomatoes, strawberries, salad leaves, spring onions, rocket, rhubarb and new potatoes. Picking lots of delicious organic produce is so satisfying and the very best part of kitchen gardening.

The growing season is in full swing here in Stephanie's Kitchen Garden. The garden and greenhouse are packed with crops and we have been harvesting lots of lovely fruit and vegetables all month. June is one of the busiest months of the growing year and I sometimes have to remind myself to stop for a moment and take some time to simply admire how lovely the garden is looking. These moments don't last for long, however, as the urge to grab a spade or secateurs is often too much for me to resist!

As I am writing this, the sun has briefly peeped through the clouds, an uncommon sight in the Kitchen Garden recently. We have been lucky enough to have escaped the latest load of snow, but a biting fierce easterly wind is dragging the temperatures down and we are suffering harsh night time frosts. Cloches and fleece have been our best friends in the Kitchen Garden, protecting our precious crops from the awful weather.

We have had the perfect growing weather in Stephanie's Kitchen Garden this month. It's been a mixture of warm sunshine and steady rain and the crops are really thriving. Unfortunately so are the weeds! And the pests are beginning to arrive as well....

I love November. The first light frosts have arrived, but still there are days warm enough to garden in your shirt sleeves. This month has been all about finishing the clearing and tidying of the garden and preparing for Winter. This is one of my favourite jobs of the year. The clear, freshly dug ground is oozing with the promise of what's to come next year. I already have it all planned in my head!

November has been a cold and miserable month in the Kitchen Garden. The sun has put in a few brief appearances, but on the whole it has been damp and grey. However, whatever the weather, there is always plenty of work to be done. When the rain is pouring down, I head into the greenhouse and shed to catch up with the Big Winter Tidy Up.

We have had some really wild weather in the Kitchen Garden in November - high winds, storms, torrential downpours and generally wet, mild days. The winds have brought the leaves down off the trees in abundance, with plenty more still to come. As regular readers will know, I am not a lover of clearing leaves and wet ones are even worse! I am hoping that December will bring us some calmer, brighter days.....

Happy Halloween everyone! Congratulations if you have grown some great pumpkins this year, with the weather we've had to contend with this summer you have done very well! Now Autumn is upon us or maybe Winter has arrived early? The shorter and darker days are here too so less gardening time for all those keen gardeners out there. All I know is that it's been very chilly of late and everything is looking decidedly messy in Stephanie's Kitchen Garden, all the rain and the falling leaves have kick started our Autumn clean up with a vengeance. Read on to see what else we've been up to this month in Stephanie's Kitchen Garden we hope you will find some inspiration to get out there and get stuck in!

The harvest has been gathered and stored and the big tidy up has begun in earnest in the Kitchen Garden this month.

The clocks have gone back, the days are growing shorter and the big autumn tidy up is well under way. However the weather has been unseasonably mild which has meant some plants are still producing a crop at a time when they would normally have been consigned to the compost bin. We are still harvesting courgettes at the end of October in Stephanie?s Kitchen Garden.

The harvest is in and our larder is now well stocked with squashes, potatoes and sweet potatoes. The freezer is full of French beans, runner beans, raspberries and blackberries. They should keep us going through the long winter ahead, along with the sprouts, leeks, celeriac, parsnips and broccoli still to be harvested.

The heavy machinery rolls in as the Kitchen Garden Site is cleared

We showcase the latest models destined to appear on the Kitchen Garden catwalk this winter

Well what a battering we have taken this week in the kitchen garden. This time it was the turn of storm Gareth passing over us, reported to be 1000 miles wide. But at last the strongest of the wind has gone and now the tidy-up starts.

Whilst over half of the country was being hit by gale force winds and rain, here on the East coast we have seen temperatures reaching 17c, with wasps and bluebottles still flying around and even a Red Admiral butterfly flew past me on Tuesday, what strange weather we are having!

Strawberries are easy to grow and even a few plants can give a plentiful supply of sweet fruits in the summer months which are appreciated by children.

Sweetcorn is an extremely popular crop and children love it too! The reason is simply the sweet tender taste of a freshly harvested sweetcorn cob with hot dripping butter ? you can?t beat it. It is very healthy (without the butter) and is a good source of fibre and Vitamin B.

Setting up a store cupboard full of your own home-produced preserves is such a marvellous way to capture the full flavour of what you have grown that it far surpasses anything you can ever buy in a supermarket.

Following the arrival of spring, the garden has put on a growth spurt and it would appear that Mother Nature is trying to make up for lost time. The peonies are quite literally growing as we watch and we just managed to pop the plant supports over them before their stems became too tall.

Options to get involved in gardening really are endless from tending to large gardens or smaller urban spaces, even balconies, windowsills and indoors with houseplants. Often, no matter what size your space is, containers and raised beds are often part of a garden and can be a useful, convenient way to grow your own flowers and vegetables.

The harvest has continued to reward all our hard work with trugs full of produce in August and there is no sign of it slowing up as we head into September. We are currently experiencing a glut of beans and tomatoes and enjoying every minute of it! Despite its cold start, the weather has been warm and sunny for most of the month; a joy for crops and gardeners alike. Consequently, much of our work this month has involved watering and harvesting.

The trees surrounding Stephanie's Kitchen Garden are now almost bare, so this week we will have more time to spend on jobs other than clearing up leaves. Our next big tidy up will be inside the greenhouse, where many plants have now gone over. Last week we harvested the last of our cucumbers and the plants are now ready for the compost bin.

It's still feeling a little chilly in the kitchen garden, but the weather is definitely improving a bit now. The forecast for the coming weekend is warm and sunny and we will be making the most of the welcome fine conditions to get on with the many jobs that need doing at this time of the year.

This week in the Kitchen Garden, we will be planting out peas. We have been growing Pea 'Norli?' in root trainers in the cold frame and they are now at a really good size to be planted out. We will be training them up an obelisk.

It has been another week of tidying in the kitchen garden especially in the greenhouse. The long sweet peppers and bell peppers have been harvested and all the plants removed along with the aubergines and we have harvested an amazing crop of sweet potatoes.

It's time to plant out our broad bean plants in the Kitchen Garden this week. We sowed the beans a few weeks ago in rootrainers in the greenhouse, as sowing direct into the soil tends to result in well fed mice and very few plants! Once the beans plants were a good size, they were moved to the cold frame to harden off and are now ready for life outside.

Our tomato plants, sown back in February are now about 6 inches tall and lifting the lid on their propagator. They were started off in a heated propagator and then moved to an unheated propagator to free up some space. Outside in the kitchen garden we are now ready to apply Nemaslug nematodes to the soil.

Gardening with children is a great way to get some fresh air, exercise and have fun together. As the summer holidays approach, all parents and grandparents are probably looking for ideas to stave off the inevitable 'I am bored' statement for as long as possible.

If August is holiday time for you, plans may be needed soon to enlist the help of friends and family to look after the garden when you are away. August can be one of the hottest months of the year and this makes watering essential.

It is certainly becoming an unusual growing season this year, with the serious lack of spring rain and the late cold temperatures. Mother Nature is challenging the Kitchen Gardener and it will be interesting to see what effect it has on our harvests.

With lots of activity over the last couple of weeks the Harrod Horticultural HQ greenhouse and raised beds are coming along really well, helped by the sun finally making an appearance!

On the subject of wet weather and flooding (see July 6th's entry), it's worth considering a rather topical Royal Horticultural Society report says horticulturist Martin Fiddes.

With drought summers increasingly predicted due to global warming, accompanied by hose pipe bans likely to come again in many areas, it certainly makes sense to wise up to potential water shortages in your garden.

Despite meteorological spring being only days away, we are still very much in the throes of winter in Stephanie's Kitchen Garden. As I write, heavy snow is falling and the temperature is -1C. A blast of arctic weather is keeping the garden chilled and covered in snow. It has been a long winter in the garden and it's not over yet.

This week it's all about the brassica's, planting out our sprouts, broccoli and kale now that the plants have been hardening off.

There are lots of jobs planned this week as the season gets into full swing - beans to be planted out, potatoes to be earthed up again and even more seed sowing!

Here at Stephanie's Kitchen Garden this week we will be planting our Christmas dinner. Our parsnips and sprouts have been growing since February and are looking very promising. We have also frozen some peas and runner beans to join them on our Christmas plate.

Here at Stephanie's Kitchen Garden this week we will be planting our potatoes. These have been chitting in trays for several weeks and have healthy shoots forming. The ground has already been prepared by digging in well rotted manure and some home made compost.

This week In Stephanie's Kitchen Garden we will be planting out our runner beans and climbing French beans. We sowed the seed in rootrainers in the greenhouse a few weeks ago and they are now good sized plants. Last week they were placed in the cold frame to harden off. Now that the night time temperatures have at last warmed up we can plant them out into the garden.

It's an exciting time at the kitchen garden - some of our seedlings are starting to emerge in the heated propagator and really starting to get the feeling that Spring is on its way...

Here at Stephanie?s Kitchen Garden this week we will be starting the war on slugs and snails. According to recent press reports, this year is predicted to be a bad one when it comes to our slimy enemies, so we will be taking steps to ensure they don?t get the upper hand in our garden.

The recent welcome change in the weather has seen the garden hit the fast forward button and everything seems to be growing before our very eyes.

Another year another golden opportunity to make this one the best yet! At Harrod Horticultural, we wanted to share our excitement with you about our variety of NEW products for 2013 as well as our NEW website too. There are plenty of inspirational, imaginative and practical products for the ornamental and kitchen garden boasting both traditional and contemporary designs and here's a few of the highlights

Raised beds are becoming ever more popular, and it is easy to see why: wooden raised beds are a great way to grow plants, vegetables and fruit right on your patio. They look great and allow you to create a simple, yet wonderful growing area - without the hassle of digging up plots in your garden.

Winter is slowly creeping in and now is the time to start preparing your garden for next year!